How to copy and paste on an iPhone

I'm always moving bits of information on my iPhone, between documents, screens, and apps, but I'm not always sure I'm doing it in the best way, especially since Apple has periodically changed the way copy and paste works. through successive versions of iOS.

That's why I wanted to look at all the different options iOS currently gives you for copying and pasting text and images, without the familiar shortcuts you have on a computer keyboard. Those options are described below and will take you from basic copy and paste to some more advanced tricks.

One note: I'm writing this guide using an iPhone 15 Pro Max running iOS 17.2.1, the latest version of the software at the time of writing.

To copy and paste text, you must first select it:

• To select non-editable text (such as text on a web page), touch and hold any part of a word until it is highlighted.
• To select editable text (when the on-screen keyboard is displayed), double-tap a word to select it or triple-tap a paragraph to select it.

Whichever method you use, you can hold your finger down and then move it to expand the selection. You'll also see handles on each edge of the selection, which you can touch and drag to change where the selection starts and ends. (Note: some apps handle text selection differently, but long-pressing will usually work.)

Once you're done, a pop-up bar will appear above your selection. What appears in the bar may vary:

• Depending on the application and the text, you may see a Select all option listed. Tap here to select all text on a page or section.
• If you see Cut and Copy options, simply tap any of them to perform the action. Yeah Cut is not displayed, the text cannot be moved.
• If you prefer gestures, pinch three fingers on the selection to copy the text, or pinch three fingers twice to cut it.

Then you will be ready to paste the text:

• With the on-screen keyboard visible, tap the screen where you want to insert text.
• Choose Paste in the pop-up bar that appears.
• You can also open with three fingers to paste text.
• If you're working on an editable document and want to move text, you can simply select it, touch and hold it, and then drag it to a new location.

Copying and pasting images is a little easier. To select an image in most apps, including Notes and Safari:

• Press and hold the image.
• Tap Cut either Copy in the pop-up bar that appears. (Cut will only appear if you are working on an editable document).

Apple Photos doesn't work the same way. To copy an image using that application:

• Tap the image thumbnail to view it full screen.
• Then touch the Share (the square with the arrow, bottom left) and choose Copy photo.

That sends the image to the clipboard. To paste it somewhere else:

• With the on-screen keyboard visible, tap where you want to paste the image.
• Tap Paste in the popup bar.

If the app you're pasting the image into supports resizing, you'll see handles around the image that you can use to resize it. Note that you can't use pinch gestures with images like you can with text.

You'll notice that when you highlight text and images, several options appear in the pop-up bar. The most useful from a copy and paste perspective is probably Share — tap this to send the selected text or image directly to another app on your iPhone.

In fact, in some situations you may find it easier to share something rather than copy and paste it: the selected text and image will be automatically inserted into the app of your choice. He Copy The option also appears in the Share menu, if you need it.

Then there is the Universal clipboard feature– If you have an iPad or Mac signed in with the same Apple ID with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled, and Handoff enabled, all of these devices will share one clipboard.

That means you can copy something on your iPhone and then switch to your Mac to paste it somewhere, or vice versa. It's important to know the Universal Clipboard, even if you don't want to use it; Otherwise, you could find yourself copying and pasting content between devices when you don't really want to.